


Blades

by DiurnalDays



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Ambushes and Sneak Attacks, Family Reunions, Gen, Original Universe, Zine, Zine: A Song of Heroes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-01
Updated: 2019-10-01
Packaged: 2020-11-09 11:55:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,997
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20853026
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DiurnalDays/pseuds/DiurnalDays
Summary: Keith was just about to fall into a light sleep when he glimpsed a flash of steel in the dark. He started, sitting upright as a chill spread through his nerves.The cavern was too silent.(Part 16 of a chronological series of fanfiction written for the Song of Heroes Voltron fanzine)





	Blades

**Author's Note:**

> This was originally a zine piece for the Voltron Song of Heroes fanzine. As the fantasy world the contributors created for the zine was a completely new AU with its own storyline, each fanfiction was written by its writer to fit into a linear narrative with a beginning, middle, and end. However, as the original zine has ended pre-orders, the only way to read the story in full would be to go through the Ao3 collection this fic is associated with and read the currently published Ao3 versions of the zine's fics in order.  
That said, I really hope you'll enjoy this fic! I had a lot of fun writing this and this was probably my best zine experience to date. :}

Dark clouds rushed into what once was a clear blue desert sky with billowing, malicious fingers. With an ear-splitting roar, sheets of rain rolled down into the canyon, rapidly soaking into the gritty soil and bringing with them a ravaging cold wind. Unluckily for Keith - he and his companions were trekking through the canyon just at that moment, pitifully vulnerable to the elements. He cursed under his breath as he raised his arms to shield himself from the frigid downpour. 

Sure, Pidge always said that rain was necessary for the cycle of all life, but did the rain really need to perform its duties at that very moment? 

“Keith!” Lance called. “Hey, hey, Keith! Look!” 

Keith wheeled around to snippily demand what Lance wanted of him, but the words dissipated in his throat when he saw the glowing line -- the Red Lion’s signal. The line snaked its way from his foot towards a pile of rocks near the canyon wall, emanating phosphorescent light. 

The Red Lion’s will was clear: head there.

Determined, he dashed along the red line as if it were a string pulling him by his foot. Shale bits and wet sand scattered with each step he took.

“Guys!” Pidge cried, voice buffeted by the wind. “Looks like Red wants us to head thataways! Follow Keith!”

Keith skidded to a stop at the point where the red line trailed off into a dissipating cloud of particles. Confused, he inspected the rugged stones and found that they were made of some sort of sedimentary rock -- foreign to him, but also completely ordinary. 

Judging by the weight distribution of the rocks, however, it did seem that there was something behind them...

A moment later, he heard Shiro and Pidge catch up to him with their deliberate steps, followed shortly by Hunk and Lance’s slightly less coordinated plodding.

He heard Lance scratch his head. “Uh, Keith, these are some great-looking rocks and all, but why would Red direct us here? These big old stones can’t make the rain relax a little with some kind of stored fire magic, can they?” 

“Shut it, Lance,” Keith grumbled mildly. “If you actually took a moment to look at these boulders, you’d notice that they’re stacked like they’re hiding some kind of hole. Oi, Hunk, could you…”

“I got you,” Hunk affirmed. He pressed his fists together and amber light burst from his knuckles, slamming into the rock pile with a great tremor. Hunk brought his arms outwards as if he were parting a large curtain, the boulders rolling over each other until they revealed a narrow passageway in the canyon wall.

At once, everyone made a mad dash at the sight of shelter until a dry cavern stretched overhead. Amidst the commotion of heavy panting and relieved sighs, Keith bumped Hunk’s shoulder gratefully.

Outside, the rain roared, the noise muffled by the cave walls (which Keith internally thanked Voltron for). In the darkness, Pidge pulled an odd-looking stick out of her pack and lit it with a single motion, illuminating the tunnel with faint, smokeless light.

“It looks like we won’t be able to reach the border of the Aschenwelt Empire anytime soon,” Shiro noted tiredly, leaning against the damp tunnel wall. The dim light accentuated the lines in his face, revealing just how haggard he was after a day’s worth of trekking through untamed badlands. “Judging by the wind and the volume of rain, this storm will last for a while.” 

Lance and Pidge groaned loudly. For once, Keith groaned with them.

“I suppose we have to set up camp here, then,” Hunk mumbled. He pulled several packs off of his back and set them down on the gravelly cave floor. “We’ll have to make do tonight with our three sticks of jerky and nothing else.”

“We could have a bushel of berries with us right now if we’d bought some while we were in Baya!” Pidge protested, sitting down and crossing her arms with a scowl. “But you guys didn’t listen to me!” 

Keith ignored the ensuing squabble over berry bushels and who received which stick of jerky, instead looking around at what he could see of the tunnel they stood in.

Judging by the slope of the well-worn walls, they stood in a tunnel eroded into the canyon wall. The temperature was mild and there was no immediate danger in sight, so the tunnel would likely be safe to rest in for the night. 

Still, he was a little concerned about the dark passageways branching off on all sides. He also wondered why the entrance of the tunnel was concealed by a stack of boulders when he hadn’t seen any evidence of a landslide nearby -- or anywhere else in the canyon, for that matter.

He didn’t allow himself to brood for too long. After all, he’d be of more use to the group if he unfurled sleeping blankets for his companions rather than stay “making a scary face at the wall”, as Lance ever-so-helpfully pointed out. 

When a circle of battered blankets was formed around Pidge’s smokeless torch, their supply packs piled up on Pidge’s apothecary box at the center of the circle, Hunk laid on his amber-colored threadbare rug and sighed. 

“Urgh.” Hunk patted miserably at his stomach. “That jerky stick didn’t do me much good. Also, this cave is really rocky and wet and definitely not what I’d expect from anywhere in Dilaw. Does anyone have any genius ideas for how to make this night a little less terrible?”

“Aha! I have just the thing for you, Honorable Hunk!” With a theatrical flourish, Lance pulled out what appeared to be a lavishly engraved stick.

Keith groaned. “Are you planning on entertaining Hunk by spanking yourself repeatedly with that?”

“No!” Lance cried. “This is my Master Slingshot! Watch me fling pebbles at the wall with my Stupendously Amazing All-Original Invention! Kachow kachow!” He pantomimed flinging pebbles at the wall through the Y-shaped opening.

Judging by the silence around the flickering torch, nobody else was impressed by Lance’s antics. 

“Can your, erhm --” Pidge cleared her throat. “Stupendously Amazing All-Original Invention perhaps catch us something to eat?” 

“Of course!” Lance shouted. “If it can’t, my name isn’t Lance and I’m not a craftsman from Coralight!” He marched towards the far side of the antechamber, slipping himself into the shadowed entrance of one of the passageways.

A moment later, he bounced out with a conniving grin spread across his face. “Hey! There’s cave-rat droppings in here! Think I can catch a few that we can roast together over Pidge’s magic torch?” 

“Go to sleep, Lance,” Keith grumbled. “We’d really be better off sleeping and catching food tomorrow than wasting our time looking for rats in the dark.”

Lance stuck his tongue out in response. “My Master Slingshot will nab more rats than your measly stick ever will. Just you see!” 

With that, Lance trotted into the passageway, footsteps quickly disappearing into its depths. Keith turned away with a huff, refusing to allow Lance to distract him with petty words and useless endeavors.

“I suppose I’ll lie down here and stew in my misery for the rest of the night, then.” Hunk pressed his face into his rug. “Good night, everyone.” 

Pidge made an affirmative sound, curling up like a cat on her mat. As Keith watched, both Hunk and Pidge soon slipped into a gentle sleep, chests slowly rising and falling.

“I’m taking first watch,” Shiro mumbled, bumping his shoulder against Keith’s. “Get some rest, Keith. We’ll need it tomorrow.”

“Alright,” Keith murmured in response, syllables slurring together with grogginess. He collapsed in a heap on his red blanket and closed his eyes.

Keith was just about to fall into a light sleep when he glimpsed a flash of steel in the dark. He started, sitting upright as a chill spread through his nerves.

The cavern was too silent. 

“Shiro!” he cried, just as Shiro raised his metal arm to deflect a near-fatal blow from a blade. White sparks flew as Shiro summoned the power of the Black Lion in his fist and attempted to grab the shadowy attacker’s robes, only for his assailant to vanish into the shadows as quickly as they’d appeared. 

Keith scrabbled for his curved blade at his bedside, fingers sliding against his pommel. He rose to his feet with wired precision and slinked towards Shiro. A moment afterward, something abruptly snapped Pidge’s stick. The antechamber plunged into darkness.

Startled, Keith pivoted around, raising his blade towards the center of the blanket circle, but he detected no discernible motion in the half-light of the rain.

The Red Lion’s presence crept up his fingers, urging him to ignite a flame in his palm, but Keith didn’t want to give away his location to the shadowy attacker just yet. Judging by the attacker’s strategy, he and Shiro were up against a formidable threat.

He took Shiro’s six, holding out his blade in a defensive position as he and Shiro stood back to back, eyes flickering about the dimly lit antechamber. Their faint breaths fell into sync -- a practice they’d fallen into after countless battles fought side by side. 

Then, he heard a breath by his ear, and raised his blade to slash across soft flesh. He heard a faint gasp of pain in the dark as the shadowy attacker stumbled a few steps. Keith noted a short tunic, a long tattered robe, and a curved metal blade. 

He felt as if he’d seen a similar uniform somewhere before, but he didn’t have time to think it over. 

“Keith? Shiro?” Pidge’s voice was raspy with sleep. “What’s going on?” 

The shadowy attacker suddenly turned towards Pidge’s voice, eyes flashing in the dark. Blood rushing in his body, Keith followed his instincts and lunged towards the attacker. 

“We’re under attack!” Shiro shouted. The attacker knocked Keith’s blade out of his hand with the ringing of metal, and Keith briefly staggered backwards. “Hunk, Pidge, ready your weapons! Make sure everything’s packed in case we need to escape!” 

Keith could hear Pidge and Hunk madly scrambling for their scattered supplies as he unsheathed his sword in a smooth motion and traded blows with the attacker, each blade intercepted by the other now that neither had the advantage of surprise. Sparks of flame crackled as the Red Lion seamlessly flowed into his weapon, flickering upon every meeting of metal upon metal. 

“Who are you?!” Keith demanded, gritting his teeth with exertion as he blocked an underhanded swipe from his foe. “Why are you attacking us?”

“I could ask you that!” the attacker snarled in a distinctly feminine voice, eyes flashing in the red light of sparks. “Why are you humans here?”

Suddenly, the attacker darted under one of Keith’s slashes and bolted, armor catching the light of Keith’s sword as she disappeared into a side passageway. Without thinking, Keith followed her, Shiro’s shouts quickly fading away as he advanced into the darkness with only his sword’s light as a guide. 

As the adrenaline rush faded, Keith slowed down until he proceeded at a light jog through the passageway. In the distance, groundwater trickled along a rocky path. The Red Lion burned brighter in his sword, providing a steady guide in the dark.

“What is your name?” Keith called. His voice echoed off of distant walls. “Are you a foe or an ally to Voltron?” 

He stopped at the entrance to another antechamber, this one larger and coated with a thin layer of humidity. He didn’t dare proceed any further upon hearing the faint noise of footsteps ringing around stalagmites. Most likely the attacker was recuperating somewhere in the antechamber.

“Are you a foe or an ally?” He menacingly swung his sword around in the dark, sparks fizzling in its corona. 

Without warning, the attacker lunged out of the darkness. Keith narrowly sidestepped a wide slash that otherwise would have split open his gut. 

“Is that your answer?” Keith held his sword up in a defensive position. He could see red light reflecting off of the attacker’s sleek body armor. 

The attacker raised her blade in an almost mirrored stance to his own. “What negotiations are there to make when you humans made camp in my war outpost?” 

“Your war outpost in an isolated canyon this far away from any town or army?“ Keith seethed. “I don’t think I can believe that.”

Suddenly, the attacker raised her blade and charged at Keith with an ear-splitting cry. He raised his blade to meet hers, but she feinted and then jabbed at his gut, slicing a thin line into his abdomen. The impact sent him backwards, gasping with pain as he clutched at his oozing wound. 

“My name is Krolia, relentless warrior of the Black Islands, and I will not allow a vagabond like you to intrude on my territory!” 

Something about Krolia’s dark blade caused Keith’s blood to grow cold, weighing him down -- or perhaps that was exhaustion finally setting in. His vision grew blurry as he only barely parried Krolia’s relentless attacks, the Red Lion’s light fading as his body drained of energy. 

He felt his foot press against the slick wall of the antechamber, and that was when he knew he was sorely outmatched. Keith thought of himself as a skilled swordsman, trained well by years of Aschenwelt military service and travel under the Red Lion, but his regimented style was no match for Krolia’s violent, masterful strokes. He could feel his grip loosening on his sword as he met Krolia’s flashing gaze, her blade pressing heavily against his sword with a burst of red sparks.

All of a sudden, a squealing lump of fur flew out of nowhere and whacked Krolia upside the head. She staggered backwards as the rat clawed at her face and scurried down her robe, giving Keith the opening to lash out and graze her shoulder with his blade. 

“Take that!” Lance cried. He stood at the other end of the antechamber, legs caked in rat droppings and fur. “That was my master plan… even if that cave-rat was way more alive than I thought it was!”

“Thanks for the help, Lance!” Keith called, meeting Lance’s gaze. Lance flashed him an affirmative sign -- something unique to Coralight’s young male culture, or so Lance had previously claimed. 

Just then, Krolia readjusted her stance and advanced, blade raised once more. 

Keith gritted his teeth and fell into an offensive stance. “I can handle myself from here! Go find the others!” 

“Got it! I’ll let the scary armored lady slice you to bits while I go find the others!” Lance’s squishy footsteps disappeared into the distance. 

Feeling the Red Lion rush through his sword with his reinvigorated fighting spirit, Keith rushed towards Krolia with a cry. She blocked his sword and attempted a riposte, but he parried and slipped underneath to nick at her arm. She hissed in pain, but her stance didn’t falter.

In a flash, Krolia launched herself forward and nicked his jugular, pulling out a thin spurt of blood. Pain searing through his veins, Keith lashed out with a blast of crackling flame, grazing her cheek. She froze as the embers licked at her hair, amber eyes wide. He took advantage of the opening by pressing himself forward, almost knocking her blade from her hands as her stance faltered. 

Something in Keith stirred, a gut instinct informing him that Krolia possessed no intention of fighting back. His stance loosened in response. When Krolia made no further motion towards him, he carefully sheathed his sword, gaze never breaking.

Without warning, the Red Lion flowed out of his sword like a gush of water, winding its way into his arms and palms. Warm, crackling flames tickled at his body as the antechamber suddenly glowed amber and crimson from the Red Lion’s aura.

“Keith?” The voice was trembling, vulnerable.

The flames leapt from Keith’s hands, skipping around the perimeter of the cavern like sparks along a wire. Pure, unadulterated warmth filled the cavern air, framing Krolia’s face with a red glow. A mane of purple hair framed her features, the marks along her cheeks resembling Keith’s own scar. A dark hood laid about her neck, jewels and worn embellishments glinting in the light.

“Keith,” Krolia whispered, eyes filling with shining tears. Her hands slackened, her blade dropping to her feet with a loud clang. “You’re everything I could’ve hoped you’d be.”

Keith started. The hairs along the back of his neck prickled. “How… how do you know my name?”

Krolia hesitantly reached towards Keith, her calloused fingers curling around his cheek. Somehow, the feather-light touch felt familiar to him -- even comforting. 

“I was the one who gave you that name.”

Keith’s eyes widened with realization. He leaned closer to Krolia, drawn in, emotion pulsing through his body. “How?” 

“Your father and I were rebels against the Aschenwelt regime.” Krolia stroked her fingers along Keith’s neck, almost reverent. “We were captured, and they took you away from us. We attempted to escape, but.. your father couldn’t leave you. I never saw either of you again.” 

A tear slipped down Krolia’s cheek, glinting like a river of gold. “I’ve looked for the two of you for so long. Even when my hope nearly ran dry, I persevered. I imagined what you’d look like when I found you all strong and grown. But I never even dreamed of meeting you like this.”

She gasped with a barely restrained sob, so vulnerable compared to the dark shade he’d fought. “You’re so strong, my Keith. I couldn’t be prouder of who you’ve become.”

Keith wrapped his arms around Krolia’s shoulders, pressing comfortingly against her chest. Long ago, he’d never express physical affection so brazenly, but something about this felt so right after he’d spent so much time with companions dear to his heart.

And now, he had space for one more.

Keith buried his head in his mother’s shoulder, breathing deeply as warmth filled his body.


End file.
